Page 189 of Bend
"Wanna share?"
I shifted nervously. "Actually, I was in your room yesterday when you guys got back from Darcy's," I said. "I was looking for boxes to wrap your gifts, and I…kind of panicked when I heard you come home, because I know you don't like me messing with your stuff…so, I uh…hid in the closet," I mumbled, feeling my face flush with embarrassment.
"Go on," Cain urged.
"Oka
y, so I heard the conversation you had…about me; and how you both feel about…me, and it just sort of seemed…to me that maybe Eli was giving you some kind of permission, you know, to act on it…and, well—I don't know how to feel about that," I finished, finally allowing a sigh to escape.
Cain was still studying me…intently. My admission hadn't seemed to have caught him off-guard, or evoked any major change in his demeanor.
"Paige," he finally said, "You can't pretend that you didn't already know how I've felt about you for a while now. I mean, I think it's been fairly obvious…to the both of us. And I think you reciprocate those feelings, too."
I rested my chin on my knees, and rocked back and forth on the bed slowly. "It doesn't mean that it's right," I whispered. "So, yeah, maybe I have been crushing on you…big time. But you belong to Eli and I know my boundaries these days—I mean, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not the same skank you first met last May, right?"
His face softened; the corners of his mouth curled up into one of his magnificent, though rare, smiles. "I have," he replied, softly. "We both have and we love it. And you're right, baby. I belong to Eli, and he belongs to me, but I want you to belong to me, too. In every sense of the word. And Eli understands that about me and about you. He loves us both, you know?"
I shook my head back and forth. "I know he does," I squeaked, my voice full of emotion. "And it's because I love Eli that I would never feel right about…encroaching. I mean, how in the hell could that ever work, Cain?"
He pulled me from my sitting position, into his strong arms, and I let him. His hand brushed my hair back from my face, and his fingers tilted my chin upward, so that I was forced to look into his beautiful russet eyes.
"We'll just take it slow, baby," he whispered. "Because I have no intention of losing either one of you, got it?"
I didn't have a chance to nod, but I knew that I would have because I had no intention of leaving these men either.
Cain's lips claimed mine with purposeful intent, and I melted into him, responding with my own purpose to claim him right back. My tongue explored him, tasted him, and matched his every movement as my hands fisted through his thick, dark hair, pulling him into me with a hunger I didn't realize existed.
We stayed locked within one another's arms until I felt dizzy with the need for more, and if we didn't stop soon, there would be no stopping. Cain sensed it, too.
He pulled away, cupping my chin and planting, soft kisses on my lips, his eyes smoldering. "We’ll take it slow and easy, babe."
I nodded. He pulled away and stood up. I could see that he'd grown hard…for me.
"Eli's leaving in the morning on a ski trip for the next couple of days with some buddies from work. One of them has a condo somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley."
"You aren't going?"
"Have some catering to do. Eli's company shuts down between Christmas and New Year's. I guess it'll just be you and me for the next few days."
I felt myself shiver inwardly, nodding again. And then he was gone. Leaving me there to contemplate what he'd just told me.
chapter 15
Eli had left for his ski trip before I'd gotten out of bed the following morning. Of course, I'd been awake for a couple of hours. I was just too much of a damned coward to leave my room until I knew that I had the house to myself.
It was Saturday, so I didn't have to report back to work until Monday.
Cain had also left, leaving a note for me on the counter telling me that he'd be back before dinnertime, and making a point of letting me know that we would be having dinner together.
I busied myself doing domestic things, and trying not to think about this evening, when it would be just Cain and me. My stomach butterflies swarmed at the possibilities my imagination was churning out.
Eli hadn't mentioned anything before Christmas about a planned ski trip. This was so not like him. I mean, he’d plan his wardrobe in advance for an excursion such as this to ensure that his ski wear was coordinated perfectly.
This had been a last-minute decision; I knew that now. Eli was giving Cain and me time alone. On purpose.
But why?
Wasn't it obvious?
